RavenStag

He’s not ashamed of being an omega, hell, he mentions it to omega patients frequently to try and put them at ease around him. It isn’t until he’s treating a patient, an omega woman who is a little older than him, who mentions she used suppressants for several years, that he makes a connection about himself.

He’s telling her about the risks of long term use, especially around their age, that it can have interactions causing increased mood swings, changes in appetite, depression, random pain, and he just trails off.

He shakes it off and finishes treating her, but the whole time, his mind is elsewhere.

He goes into the bathroom after asking Princess to gather discharge papers and stares into the mirror. He touches his lower belly, frowning at his reflection. He’s not pregnant, knows he isn’t. He hasn’t had a heat for the better part of 20 years, he and Jack have barely had the energy for anything more than sleepy grinding in the last… well. He’s embarrassed to even think about how long it’s been.

He can’t be perimenopausal.

It lines up with everything, the worsening spirals, the spotting, constantly pulling on and taking off his hoodies, insomnia, everything. It all lines up.

But he and Jack were supposed to have pups.

They’d talked about it, planned for it. They’d just always assumed there’d be time. And sure, Robby knew he over relied on the suppressants. But this was something else.

How was he supposed to tell his mate that they couldn’t anymore? Sure, there was time, technically, if he was right. But by the time he weaned off suppressants, who knew? Time was ticking and it had been for months, maybe even years. And he hadn’t fucking noticed.

He pressed his hand firmer against his belly and huffed. There was a laundry list of things that made him a bad partner. He was a workaholic, he rarely if ever cooked, he fell asleep during movies, he hated doing laundry and dishes. But he thought there was one thing, one thing that he could give Jack someday.

His eyes welled up with tears, but before any could spill over, there was a knock on the door. “Cap, you in there? Trauma incoming, need your hands in two minutes!”

“Be out in a second.” Robby scrubbed his eyes with his sleeves and blew out a breath.

Okay.

He’d just stop taking the suppressants. Cold turkey. Get knotted as much as he could. Get pregnant before it was too late.

A nap date while it’s raining?!?

I’ve been proudly writing and posting non-con fics for nearly a decade now. sorry you have to deal with this, anon. personally I’ll never see people who harass real people for the sake of fictional characters as anything but a bunch of bullies who just want a noble excuse to harass others and feel morally superior about themselves. also a lot of people with this puritan mindset make feel like this

i feel like the safest bets on the cast to stay for many seasons are the most senior members of staff. robby of course, dana, abbot. would love al-hashimi to join that group, but we'll see

and sure, anybody could get killed, but i don't think we're going to go there when the series is about robby's mental health at its heart, and i don't think robby would survive abbot's death on top of everything. it's just a bit much on the tragedy. them not telling a guest actor more about his character's future or backstory is normal, so shawn's basically just saying it keeps him on his toes not to know

and i don't think it's super likely shawn hatosy would quit. he enjoys the work, he keeps getting emmy nominated for it, and he can work on other projects around it. he has all the time to actually accept the roles he's been offered since his exposure. if something really interesting were to film right at the same time with the pitt, maybe he would skip a season, but idk

And if they don’t do that, maybe they can take a look at the S2 poster and go oh! This is The Robby Show.

Robby is way too stressed from running the ED, he has decision fatigue from constantly having to make literal life or death choices, so having someone pick out his clothes or his lunch order is a relief.

Meanwhile, though Jack is making similar decisions everyday, he’s able to relax better when he can make someone’s choices for them that are guaranteed to result in a full belly and a good nights sleep instead of minimal trauma at best.

He knows when Robby is really struggling because he starts being a brat; only eating one bite of his food or missing bathroom breaks.

Jack can handle it. Taking care of Robby is what he was born to do, even on days where there’s a bit of a struggle.

The real concerns come in when Robby starts blatantly disobeying.

Jack said no motorcycle, and Robby got one anyway. He tells him to never ride without a helmet, but he ignores that too.

After he’s exhausted every possible option on getting Robby to listen, and more importantly take care of himself, Jack decides to bring out the big guns.

He stops trying.

He doesn’t ask if Robby has eaten, he doesn’t tell him to shower, and he certainly doesn’t offer sex.

Jack hates it. He wants to check on Robby; he wants to pull him close and cuddle him in their bed until the tension releases from Robby and he’s Jack’s adorable puddle of love safe in their sheets. But, unfortunately, this is the tactic that’s working.

It’s obvious that Robby is fraying and needy even if he won’t say anything. Finally, after nearly two months of distance, Robby confesses he’s been planning a “sabbatical” and will be leaving in a couple weeks.

“Oh, sounds fun.”

Robby’s shoulders slump. “Yeah.”

Jack leans back in his chair. They’re sitting at the kitchen table, Jack’s plate is wiped clean, but Robby’s is still full. He’s staring at his vegetables so pitifully that Jack can’t resist offering some sort of olive branch. “Is a sabbatical what you need?”

Robby pushes his food around. “I don’t know what I need,” he pouts. “No one tells me.”

Jack moves to kneel next to Robby’s seat. He places one hand on his shoulder, and the other on Robby’s waist, rubbing circles with his thumb. The heat from Robby’s body makes him flutter the way it did when they first got together. They always sleep in the same bed when their schedules line up, but it’s been a long time since Jack felt close to Robby. “You made it pretty clear you didn’t want to be told.”

Robby’s pretty face blooms red, try as he might he can’t stop the tears that drip down his nose. Jack wipes them away.

“Do you want me to tell you?”

With a hard sniff, Robby nods.

“Are you going to listen?”

Robby nods again.

“I need a verbal answer.”

“Yes,” Robby says, obediently, his voice thick and wet. “I want you to tell me, and yes I’ll listen.”

Jack kisses his cheek. “Good boy. Let’s start with some water, yeah?”

Robby drinks a full glass with ease, and then another as he eats his meal. He isn’t able to finish it, which he apologizes for, but Jack was expecting it considering how little he’s been eating at all in the past weeks. Jack kisses away his apologies and tells Robby he’s proud of him.

After that it’s easy. Robby is ready to please and happily lets Jack bathe and dress him for bed. Once Jack gets him in bed he lays his full weight on Robby, exactly how he knows he likes it.

“We’re going to talk about this in the morning,” he says. “But tonight I just want my good boy to sleep.”

I think for me it was a gifset of him saying the Shema. But I know the quality of Jewish representation is why we're all so absolutely feral for this show.

He's trying, failing, trying again, falling, failing, yet trying.

The Judaism of it all.

The world doesn't have to be perfect when we leave it, no one expects that, but look at it: the world is broken. Anyone can see that. But it was made "very good" and that's baked into its essence. Just because so much of what we see isn't good doesn't mean the good isn't there. We're good. You're good. The soul that was breathed into you is pure: Elohai neshamah shenatata bi tehorah. That's why the world hurts. You're good, so of course your heart breaks to see the shattered good in the world's broken pieces. Repair it. Try. You can't complete the work. But neither are you free to desist from it.